Schuman Declaration

Video of an excerpt from Schuman's speech where he says "In taking upon herself for more than 20 years the role of champion of a united Europe, France has always had as her essential aim the service of peace. A united Europe was not achieved and we had war. Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."
Schuman Declaration
Presented9 May 1950
Author(s)Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet
PurposeTo propose European integration

The Schuman Declaration, or Schuman Plan,[1][2] was a proposal to place French and West German production of coal and steel under a single authority that later became the European Coal and Steel Community, made by the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, on 9 May 1950 (now celebrated in the EU as Europe Day), the day after the fifth anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The alliance would later be opened to other European countries. The ultimate goal was to pacify relations, especially between France and West Germany, through gradual political integration to be achieved by creating common interests. Schuman said that "[t]he coming together of the countries of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany ... the solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible."[3]

Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, responded positively to the Declaration, as did the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg. On 18 April 1951, the six founding members signed the Treaty of Paris. It created the European Coal and Steel Community – Europe's first supranational community, which paved the way for the European Economic Community and subsequently the European Union.[4]

  1. ^ "Schuman Plan". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2 May 2021.
  2. ^ McCourt, David M (2021). "Hegemonic Field Effects in World Politics: The United States and the Schuman Plan of 1950". Journal of Global Security Studies. 6 (3). doi:10.1093/jogss/ogaa035. ISSN 2057-3170.
  3. ^ "The Schuman Declaration - 9 May 1950". Official website of the European Union. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. ^ European Union. "Robert Schuman: the architect of the European integration project" (PDF). EUROPA.

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